I have been reviewing a lot of high-end haircare lately, so it’s nice to try an affordable, quality shampoo and conditioner. At the $3.99 – $4.99 USD range, and smelling so fantastic, Herbal Essences makes great hair products that are accessible to all.
I have been using Herbal Essences for a couple of years now. My favorite is the Hello Hydration with the scent of orchid and coconut milk. It leaves my hair very soft and smells wonderful.
They have recently released the Hydralicious collections; Featherweight, Self-Targeting and Reconditioning. I have tried the Self-Targeting Shampoo and conditioner. The scent is red vanilla and whipped aloe. The idea of the Self-Targeting is that moisture will be deposited on the strands that need the most help. This is a really cool idea and it seems to work. My hair was quite moisturized after shampooing and conditioning.
Learn more about the Hydralicious line at www.herbalessences.com. You can purchase the products at most drugstores and supermarkets.
Oscar Blandi creates quality hair care that are made for specific needs. With products such as the Crema Line for overstressed hair, glosses and masks, color conditioning shampoos and conditioners and the fun products I’m reviewing; Pronto Dry Shampoo and Onde Wave Enhancing Spray, you can surely find what you need to make your hair look great!
Pronto Dry Shampoo($19.00 USD for 2.5 oz $11.00 USD for 1.0 oz travel size) : The Oscar Blandi website states, “Natural rice, oat, and tapioca starches cleanse hair by absorbing excess oil, product, and grease and increase hair volume at the roots without weighing hair down. Triclosan and tea tree oil help treat the scalp and reduce the occurrence of dandruff, while the invigorating lemon verbena fragrance leaves hair smelling and feeling fresh.” Dry shampoos are really hot right now, and this is one of the best I have tried. The applicator is a nozzle that makes it easy to place the product right on the roots. After I apply it to my roots I message it in, then run my fingers through my hair. I look good and smell clean with the lemony scent!
Onde Wave Enhancing Spray($18.00 USD): The website proclaims, “Onde is a wave enhancing spray that brings back natural movement and enhances the underlying body of hair. Enriched with wheat proteins to strengthen and fortify the hair, Onde helps retain recoil in wavy hair, and activates movement in any degree of wave.” My hair is fairly straight with a little wave to it. To bring it out, I spray my towell-dried hair with Onde, then twist my hair into little coils and bobby-pin them to my head. I then spray a little more Onde to the coils and used my blow dryer until almost dry. I then unpin and mess it up a bit with my fingers, till I have a head full of waves. Very fun!
You may purchase these products and many others at www.oscarblandi.com and they are also available at Sephora, Sephora.com, Ulta, and Beauty.com
Hi all, welcome to my Hair Extravaganza Week! I am reviewing only hair products this week at Forty, Flirty and Fabulous!
Tigi is introducing it’s Love, Peace & The Planet eco-friendly line. This line of six products is made from natural, paraben free, and mostly organic ingredients that are as good for the planet as they are for your hair!
The products are:
Eco Awesome Cranberry Orange Mint Moisturizing Shampoo ($19.95 USD) — This is the BEST hair scent ever! When you first sniff the bottle, the smell of mint is dominant. But when you shampoo, the cranberry and orange infuse the shower with this incredible fragrance! This is great for the scent alone, but the organic aloe leaf juice, organic geranium, organic lavender and rosemary seed extracts and organic jojoba oil make this shampoo both cleansing and softening.
Eco Awesome Cranberry Orange Mint Moisturizing Conditioner ($19.95 USD) — Same fantastic scent as the shampoo! The conditioner includes organic aloe leaf juice, organic olive fruit oil, organic white tea leaf extract, and organic glycerin. This product claims to moisturize, impart shine and help fight humidity. My hair does seem less frizzy when I use it.
Let it Be Cherry Almond Leave-in Conditioner ($18.95 USD) — This product has a creamy, comforting scent and is great when you don’t have time to condition in the shower or need an extra moisture boost. The ingredients include: mucor miehei and shiitake mushroom extracts, glycerin, organic shea butter and organic hibiscus and horsetail extracts.
Freak of Nature Lavender Citrus Eucalyptus Volumizer & Thickener ($18.95) — This is a good product for me since my hair is rather thin. The scent is nice but strong, you can really smell the Eucalyptus! I rub this into damp hair, making sure I get the roots, then blow dry. The ingredients include: organic Japanese green tea extract, organic pomegranate extract, organic nettle, organic glycerin and wheat amino protein.
Eco Freako Cherry Almond Texturizer ($22.95 USD) — This texturizer paste includes carnauba, soy and beeswax, hydrolyzed wheat starch, hydrolyzed soy protein and hydrolyzed wheat protein plus organic safflower oil, organic shea butter and organic jojoba seed oil. It adds shine and texture and you can mold your hair into fun and funky ‘dos.
Free Ur Mind Cherry Almond Firm Hold Hairspray ($22.95 USD) — This hairspray gives a firm hold without feeling sticky. The ingredients include: organic lavender, chamomile, geranium and aloe vera gel, panthenol and essential oils.
I highly recommend this line for healthy, green (haha) hair! Check out a TIGI retailer near you!
EcoTools is one of my new favorite brands. This is because the are incredibly earth-friendly and they work fantastically well! And bonus — they are very affordable.
The brushes are made with cruelty free synthetic taklon bristles, recycled aluminum ferules (the piece that connects the bristles to the handle), and highly sustainable bamboo handles.
Some of my top picks are:
Bamboo 6 Piece Brush Set ($12.99 USD) : Are you kidding me with this price? Wow! This fab set includes a blush brush, an eyeshading brush, an eyeliner brush, a concealer brush and a lash and brow groomer. The brushes are SO soft and apply products very evenly. The set also includes a natural cotton & hemp brush roll.
Recycled Aluminum Retractable Kabuki Brush ($7.99 USD) : This is a great brush for applying powders. I use it to either apply mineral makeup or powder over my foundation. Just swirl in powder, tap off access and apply. It gives you a very smooth canvas for your bronzer and/or blush.
Eco-Foam Cleasing Sponges ($2.99 USD for 12) : Made with natural soybean oil and 100% cotton, which are sustainable materials. I LOVE these sponges! You apply your cleanser to the soft side and it removes every trace of make-up and gunk from the face.
There are other great brushes and tools available as well such as a Recycled Brow Grooming Kit ($9.99 USD), Foundation Brush ($5.99 USD) and Bamboo Mini Brushes ($3.99 USD for a set of 6). I highly recommend these fabulous beauty tools! Visit the site at http://www.parispresents.com/EcoTools_s/36.htm.
Crabtree & Evelyn is a classic brand that makes great bath and body products. Their Aromatherapy Distillations are as wonderful for the senses as they are for the body.
The Aromatherapy Distillations are available in three different collections; Relaxing, Revitalizing and Purify. The scents are:
Relaxing: Calming essential oil blend of lavender and rosewood, tonka, chamomile, vanilla and violet leaf.
Revitalizing: Essential oil blend of lemon, coriander, spearmint, mandarin and star anise.
Purifying: Essential oil blend of eucalyptus, lime, peppermint, grapefruit, mandarin and rosemary.
These ranges come in many different products such as Body Lotion, Body Wash, Body Scrub and Body Salts. Visit their website at www.store.crabtree-evelyn.com for the full collections and prices.
I love organic and natural skincare; plus I love anti-aging products (a little help doesn’t hurt anyone!). Jurlique’s Purely Age-Defying Collection (Formerly the Biodynamic Beauty Collection) is both! It is comprised of herbs and flowers from certified organic and biodynamic farms in South Australia. These unique blends are as follows:
Serum ($75.00 USD) and Night Lotion ($55.00 USD): This blend includes Rose Gallica, Licorice Root, Black Elder, Chamomile, Pansy and Violet extracts, which work together to combat the appearance of redness and fade discolorations to brighten the skin. The Serum renews the skin while the Night Lotion restores.
Refining Treatment ($35.00 USD) :This blend includes Calendula, Witch Hazel, Echinacea, Spilanthes, Horse Chestnut, Pansy, Sweet Violet, Daisy, Dandelion, Chickweed, Self Heal and Soapbark Tree extracts, which work together to soothe, cleanse and refine the skin to reveal a glowing complexion. This is a natural skin polisher that exfoliates the skin.
Eye Cream ($45.00 USD) : This blend includes Arnica, Euphrasia, Daisy and Spilanthes, which work together to help combat puffiness and help fade discolorations to brighten the skin.
These products have a light, herbal scent and are very gentle on the skin. I have been using them for a few weeks and my skin is very smooth. I have broken out just a little bit, but my skin looks good!
My favorite products from the line are the Refining Treatment and the Eye Cream. The Refining treatment is a really great scrub that gets rid of all of the dead skin and impurities. And the Eye Cream! Wow, my eyes look smooth and very young right now! I definitely recommend the Eye Cream because its a really effective natural product!
To purchase these items, visit the Jurlique website at www.jurlique.com. Enjoy!
It Cosmetics My Sculpted Face ($38.00 USD) is a compact with 6 powder shades created to contour and highlight your face. The website claims it, “takes you step by step on how to contour features of your face for the appearance of a slimmer look, a straighter nose, slender cheeks, more prominent cheekbones and even the appearance of a reduced double chin!”
I have tried all 2 highlighting shades and 4 contour shades — even the darkest one — and have to say that they are extremely blendable and wearable for every day. I like to contour my jawline and my nose, and those area look slimmer. The highlighters are great on the cheekbones, brow bones and middle of the nose and forehead.
“My Sculpted Face comes with a full color chart you can put on your mirror, in your makeup bag or keep by your sink so you always have your own personal reference chart that teaches you where to apply the highlighting and contour shades to bring out the features you want more prominent, and hide or minimize the features you want to draw attention away from!”, states the website. The guide is very useful, but I say just play with it to figure out what looks the best for you!
Visit www.itcosmetics.com to check out “My Sculpted Face” and other great collections for legs, lips, eyes, bust and more!
Looking for a lip gloss made with natural ingredients? Korres Cherry Full Color Gloss ($16.00 USD) is a great choice! Korres is a Greek company that makes all natural products ranging from skincare, haircare, body products and cosmetics.
This moisturizing gloss comes in 10 different shades. I have Nude which is a sheer pinky beige. It is a great every day color, but this gloss also has dramatics shades such as Red and Fuchsia.
The gloss is infused with Vitamins A & C, cherry and jojoba oil. It is not made with parabens, sulfates, petro-chemicals or GMO.
To see all that Korres offers, check out their website at www.korres.com or to purchase in the US, go to www.sephora.com.
Forty, Flirty and Fabulous is going international! Well, at least for today. Crazylibellule and the Poppies is a funky fragrance line from France. Their most popular product is their CrazySticks ($18.00 USD), a solid scent in a tube that is completely portable.
These are great since you can keep them in your purse and apply them whenever you need a little boost! Two I really like are:
Blue Orchidée from the Shanghaïjava collection — the notes are Ylang Ylang, Bergamot, Jasmine, Tangerine, Sandalwood, Rose, Orange, Musk and Vanilla.
Vanilla Sucre Glace from the Poule de Luxe collection — the notes are Caramel, Neroli, Vanilla, Jasmine, Musk, Bergamot and Tangerine.
For all of you natural product lovers like myself, Crazylibellule and the Poppies’ products are alcohol free, paraben free and have no artificial coloring.
CrazySticks can be purchased at Sephora. Also visit the website at www.crazylibellule.com to see all that the company has to offer.
I love coming across cool companies while searching the Internet or looking through magazines. Sula recently caught my eye with the fresh look of their website (www.sulabeauty.com) and the interesting products they offer.
A really unusual product that Sula has introduced is Paint and Peel Nail Polish ($10.00 USD) This polish is water-based and does not contain formaldehyde, toluene or phthalates. It is very fun to use, but does start peeling soon after applying. Using the top coat helps a bit. My problem is, I will start picking at a nail at work and in a few minutes, I will not have a bit of polish left! What’s great about these polishes is that they actually smell nice and that they peel off in one strip.
I also really love Sula’s fragrances. They are very fresh smelling, not a strong perfume scent in the bunch!
Sula Discovery Set
A convenient way to try all six of their fragrances is with the Discovery Set ($18.00 USD) This is a box that contains roll-ons of each fragrance; Butterfly Kiss, Stiletto Musk, Vanilla Blossom, Blackberry Blush, Sun-Kissed Citrus, and Champagne Sugar.
My favorites are are Sun-Kissed Citrus which has notes of tangerine, lemon, orange, grapefruit and bergamot; and Blackberry Blush with notes of ripe blackberry and cassis blended with osmanthus, rose and a hints of soft musk and vanilla.
Here is a description of the kit from the website:
Packaged in a chic magnetic snap-shut box for safekeeping, these mini versions of the Sula Pulse Point Perfumes are 5ml of ultimate on the-go portability. Adorned with eye-catching motifs and patterns that are distinctly Sula, the undeniably feminine fragrances were expertly designed to be complete when worn solo…heavenly blended with one another.
Sula also has lip glosses, body wash and body lotion. Visit their gorgeous website to discover a store near you to purchase these unique products!
Forty, Flirty & Fabulous 